Congratulations to Philadelphia

WDTPRS extends congratulations to the people of Philadelphia for the appointment of His Excellency Most Rev. Charles Chaput as their new Archbishop! Condolences to the people of Denver, who must now begin a process of prayer in expectation of the appointment of a new archbishop.

For those of you who are waiting for the appointment of a bishop, here are two proposals I made elsewhere:

PROPOSAL 1: Stop, now, and say a prayer to the guardian angels of those who must make this decision.

PROPOSAL 2: If your diocese is presently “sede vacante“, for each minute of gossip and even of speculation – which will go on anyway – spend 10 in prayer.

These are difficult times. The devil is abroad and has great wrath. The appointment of bishops is always important and difficult.

The bigger the see, the more important the choice, as we have seen to our great consternation.

I feel sorry indeed for Denver. Big dioceses may be more important appointments, but fly-over country needs good bishops, too. I know a certain backwater diocese that has been a gay/feminist/liberal playground for far too long.

TomG – Cardinal Rigali’s successor will not receive a red hat until Cardinal Rigali himself turns 80. That is why, for example, His Excellency Timothy Dolan was not created Cardinal at the last consistory.

Not necessarily. Caffarra and Biffi of Bologna were both Cardinals of voting age from 2006 to 2008

How fortunate for Philadelphia; and prayers for Denver. The diocese of Tyler, Texas, is losing its wonderful Bishop, Alvaro Corrada, who is being transferred to his native Puerto Rico. He has been so supportive of the TLM, since he arrived in 2001, even saying Mass at St. Joseph the Worker in the EF for our elevation to parish this year. This diocese has had 24 seminarians recently. For a small (in population) diocese this is marvelous. One newly ordained (by the good Bishop) diocesan priest celebrated a Solemn High Mass at St. Joseph’s yesterday. His deacon was another newly ordained diocesan priest. The Master of Ceremonies was an FSSP seminarian friend. The sub-deacon, two cantors and thurifer were all diocesan priests or seminarians. They were all YOUNG men. Praise God for whatever seminaries from which they arose. We now are praying also for a supportive successor to Bishop Corrada, and holding our breath. He leaves in September.

Congratulations, prayers, and best wishes to Archbishop Chaput! Ad multos gloriousque annos! Unfortunately, he’s going to have some anni horribile ahead as well, but I truly believe he is the man who can weather the storms.

While this is a great day for the Church in Philadelphia, surely a new era of strengthening in orthodox Catholic life and identity for them. At the same time we here in Denver would not be disappointed if Bishop Conley became Archbishop Conley, after all he would continue to foster authentic Catholic life and devotion that is already here in Denver but he is also known to say the TLM and has done so publically as Bishop.

Congratulations to Abp Chaput , indeed! May the Lord give him strength, for he’ll need it , by the sound of it.

@JohnE: unless bp Conley is co-adjutor, I wouldn’t count on it. The usual procedure seems to be that auxilliary bishops first get a small diocese when they get their first independent assignment. I’m guessing here as I live on the other side of the great pond, but I reckon that the US has an informal division into 3 or even 4 tiers of dioceses; based on size and history. Denver would be tier 2 in that sense, given that it is an archdiocese, and that Abp Chaput actually made his see more prominent by his own outstanding ministry. It would be a big step to have that see as a first independent assignment. It’s not impossible, Abp Gomez also went straight from auxilliary to Abp. (though San Antonio before he got LA), but hardly the norm. For Denver, I’d look at candidates already bishop of smaller sees.

His Excellency seems to have become the man Pope Benedict sends for when he wants a mess cleaned up. :) Seriously, I’ve always included Archbishop Chaput in my prayers for priests. If you haven’t read his book, Render Unto Caesar, click on Father’s Amazon link and go get it.

Without casting any aspersions on Archbishop Chaput, whom I admire, I do wonder about the wisdom, in general, of moving bishops and archbishops around so frequently. I recall that Cardinal Ratzinger (now gloriously reigning as Pope Benedict XVI) once wrote about the wisdom of the ancient practice of permanent, life-long episcopal appointments.

Cardinal Gantin also made some strong statements about this matter: “When he is appointed, the bishop must be a father and a pastor before God and to the people. And when one is a father, one is so forever. Therefore, in principle, once appointed to a particular see, the bishop should remain there forever. This must be clear. The relation between a bishop and his diocese is akin to matrimony and, according to the evangelical spirit, indissoluble. The new bishop must not have other personal plans.”

I don’t know. Maybe it is unrealistic to appoint anyone but an experienced and proven archbishop to a major See. How do the Catholics of Denver feel about this?

I sent Abp. Chaput an email this morning, thanking him for his service (I live in a suffragan diocese) and wishing him well in Philadelphia, and he just sent a kind reply. I encourage everyone to consider sending a note to him. I’ll not include his email address here, but it is on the Denver Archdiocese’s website. Due to a formatting bug, you may have to scroll down a bit to find it.

I thought bishops could only be moved diagonally. Denver to Philadelphia is a horizontal move. As a Denver-area Catholic, I think the move should be disallowed.

On a serious note, even Archbishop Chaput mentioned the family analogy in his interview with John Allen. Without losing that analogy, perhaps it is also like a hospital where the expert surgeon needs to move on to a patient in more critical condition in Philadelphia after stabilizing the patient in Denver. I’m sure a military analogy could also be made, but I won’t embarrass myself by misusing terms.

amenamen says: Without casting any aspersions on Archbishop Chaput, whom I admire, I do wonder about the wisdom, in general, of moving bishops and archbishops around so frequently. I recall that Cardinal Ratzinger (now gloriously reigning as Pope Benedict XVI) once wrote about the wisdom of the ancient practice of permanent, life-long episcopal appointments.

It is a good thing to be stuck permanently with a holy, orthodox bishop, but unfortunately, there are still plenty of places where such is not the case. For those dioceses, the hope of a sooner rather than later end to the liberal regime is a blessing.

I think the triage analogy is apt. Hopefully, the phenomenon of musical bishops will end once the modernist mess of the past several decades is under control.

I heard that Philly will get Archbishop Chaput, and Denver, in return, will get two first round draft choices, to be named at a later date, from Philly. Pretty fair trade, I guess, if the two first round draft choices pan out.

+Abp. Chaput does read his email…I’ve corresponded with him in the past, and always received a reply (now, whether it was actually by his fingers on the keyboard or his secretary…doesn’t matter, really…the fact is, he’s the only member of the hierarchy who has ever replied to an email.). I’m feeling better about the Archdiocese.

But…he does have quite a task here in River City to clean out the Augean Stables in some corners of his new diocese; no doubt the revelations over the past year, indictment of a former member of +Rigali’s staff, etc etc etc indicated to the Holy Father the needed the new Archbishop’s firm hand in Philly. I do notice, when there’s problems with the English-speaking bishoprics…he seems to be the ‘go-to guy’ for Benedict that gets results…much as +O’Connor was for JP-II.

So…I’m thinking that, regardless of the drivel coming out of the fishwrap and the other usual suspects, this is like a breath of fresh air for the local Church here along the Delaware. While Denver’s loss is Philly’s gain…I’m sure with the bench that Benedict has developed here in the states, the Mile High City will enjoy a spiritual father of the highest caliber in the very near future.

My son likes the Miyazaki films. I do too, although a few can get a little environmentally heavy-handed, and what’s with the effeminate father in Ponyo? Otherwise the animation is beautiful and really creates an atmosphere that immerses you. So much so that I’ve drifted off occasionally — think of the kids in Totoro waiting for the bus in the rain.

Samurai Jack and The Spectacular Spiderman are a couple of my favorite animated series.

I think the only reason the Holy Father chose him, was because of his record of dealing with the sexual abuse scandal. And that’s all!. You never read about any of the other gifts he brings in any of the articles covering this move. It’s all about the sexual abuse scandal. Sex, Sex, Sex, that’s all they talk about in the Latin Church. What about, how is he going to restore the Catholic tradition and identity to this Archdiocese. Through liturgy and evangelism.

I would like to agree with amenamen. Stability for ordinaries would be a marked improvement for the church. Right now ordinaries are always looking for the next step up, so they are always concerned about keeping up appearances for the Congregation of Bishops. S0, you have very intelligent men writing pablum, such at Bishop Serratelli’s recent piece on church architecture in his diocesan paper – writing things he knows are wrong but which will play well in Rome (and the nunciature). He obviously does not want to be buried in Patterson. No bishop with career aspirations can tell the truth about the 2010 Vox Clara Roman Missal. Brave men like Hanus and Trautman are terminal. Stability for ordinaries would correct for the careerism that keeps bishops from shepherding their flocks with integrity.

Given the administrative skills necessary to shepherd a megadiocese, episcopal stability is a great way to ensure the far smaller likelihood of a truly qualified candidate being appointed to one of those sees. It may have been a good idea in prior eras of Church history. In the 21st century, it’s an abysmal idea.

@Fr. Jim, I just went and read Bp. Serratelli’s piece. What were the things that were wrong? Let’s see – 1) Iconoclasm is bad – that’s correct; 2) abstraction is an unfitting replacement to images and religious symbolism – correct; 3) central placement of the altar of sacrifice impedes necessary liturgical/spiritual/psychological verticality – correct; 4) placing the musicians at the front of the church is inappropriate because it makes the liturgy seem like a performance – correct; 5) failing to put the tabernacle in the front and center where it belongs deprecates the Real Presence – correct. He makes some passing comments that are a little off or annoying, but those basic points are simply spot-on.

@Fr. Jim again – I read the Serratelli piece on the PrayTell blog. I assume you are the Fr. Jim there. Could it be that some of Bp. Serratelli’s original training was defective in its liturgical and sacramental theology, and that his understandings have since been corrected? If so, bully for him.

The most distressing and yet humorous thing about the combox at that site was the dichotomy some were trying to establish between SC and the CCC. Hermeneutic of rupture, anyone?

Unfortunately when there is the other sort of pandering that goes on, the faithful have not been served by this and are greatly harmed. It just can’t be said after all that has happened that the voices outside the Church, on the peripheries, fringes or who claim to be “within” who constantly attack or undermine Rome have the best interests of, or desire a healthy spirituality for, the Catholic faithful. It is easily observed that from the attacks they do not desire the ultimate good and welfare for others in a selfless way and because of this over the long haul their backbiting is found to lead, nowhere, and is tuned out as irrelevant.

I caught a little bit of today’s news conference from Philly. I enjoyed knowing about Archbishop Chaput’s Native American (is it Lakota?) names. I very much appreciated them in the context of his Franciscan charism. He showed a great interest in meeting and listening to the people of the Archdiocese.

I have read some of what he has written, but not yet the book referred to by the others here. He is a gifted writer and is able to capture interest ably. I find it kind of strange how the whining hand-wringers about the appointment are worried that he is plainly prolife and not ashamed of the beauty and wisdom of the Church’s teaching. For the same commenters are all about the prochoice Catholics being militant and mobilized and visible in every aspect of life, parish, institution, diocese, politics, and voicing that and various other supposedly “evangelizing” views (which of course aren’t at all) and yet if a Catholic professes prolife then that person must per se and automatically be discouraged from leadership in any sphere of public life. Why is it acceptable for certain members of clergy and Catholic laity to organize political support for this or that issue but if a Bishop openly supports Catholics contributing in meaningful ways to the issues under consideration that now all of a sudden it’s about “politics” and shouted right down without even a moment to roll up sleeves and get started.

We Wichitans just lost Bishop Olmsted a few years back, and though I don’t think quite as highly of Bishop Jackels as I did of Olmsted, I would hate to see us lose another great bishop due to reshuffling.

After all, there have been four natives of the Diocese of Wichita ordained as bishops in the past 13 years and we’re likely to see one of our native priests beatified in the coming years…. I think we should get a little credit and be allowed to keep the good guys!

benedetta,
I’m always amazed at the wonderful and interesting things that are just a click away!
We used to have to go to the Library to find all this!
robertbrown,
“You’ll notice,” they warned each other, “that she hasn’t answered our question.”
– The Great Divorce

Archbishop Chaput has always given out his private email address, and regularly corresponds to anyone who sends him an email. I am not quite sure if this situation will be continued in Philadelphia, but I sure hope it will. I have received beautiful emails from him over the last eleven years, or so, and like many here, received a request for prayers from him in response to a congratulations from me, regarding his new appointment

Perhaps disappointingly for WDTPRS fans Archbishop Chaput is not particularly enamoured of the liturgical rites used before the Council. In this manner, he shares a similar outlook to Cardinal Arinze. Do we send him to hell for that? No, but we will go to hell as Archbishop Chaput said in the fishwrap interview, if we don’t feed the poor and the hungry.

But is he supportive of what the Holy Father has done in regard to the traditional liturgy? In 1988 when Ecclesia Dei came out, he was just appointed the bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota. There were 3 or 4 SSPX parishes in the area, but after allowing the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter to come there, by the time he was appointed to Denver in 1997, the former were all gone.

A similar pattern continued in Denver. There is now one full time FSSP parish, and a few others where the Old Mass is said regularly, if not weekly. And of course this culture long had been established before the promulgation of Summorum Pontificum in 2007, when now it is not really a bishop’s business if one of his priests wants to offer the 1962 Missal, for the faithful.

What is most important in a bishop, is that he is supportive of the rightful aspiration of Catholics to be allowed to participate in the old liturgy. His own personal likings and tastes have nothing to do with this.

As Archbishop Chaput, in my opinion said in the interview in regard to this subject quite humbly,

“I’m very happy to follow the lead of the Holy Father on all of this, because he has insights that I don’t have. He also has an inspiration from the Holy Spirit which I don’t have.”

If only more priests and bishops in the Church, had this sort of attitude. Archbishop Chaput, we pray for your success in your new posting and that Philadelphia will also receive the benefits of you having been in Rapid City, and Denver.

I don’t want to encourage the hijack of this post by frjim4321 (in which Fr. Z congratulated the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Archbishop Chaput) any longer. I would just point out one or two things.

When the announcements came down back when that the faithful were now to always receive communion in the hand, it was not communicated to us that the reason behind it was “because we said so”. Was that “the truth” as frjim4321 would have us believe, the sum and substance and the “whole truth”? At any rate, a reductionist and limited worldview would always have us reduce everything to those terms alone but that does not seem to be our calling as members of the Body of Christ. I guess charity would require that we refrain from accusing those who guide us in authority as “liars”.

Be that as it may the fact is that quite liberal thinkers have reflected upon the paltry English translation from the very beginning. It is not news nor is it “lying” to acknowledge that something more was needed.

I would also note that when the change to communion in the hand was made, and then following that widespread irreverence with regard to the sacraments, a commonly accepted assessment, even citing Scripture or Church documents that all of doctrine and liturgical norms were unnecessary, that these undermined “the spirit”, that indeed one could do whatever one wanted and it was all still good and somehow an authentic reflection of unity, that rules themselves about anything were needless, that whenever a political viewpoint was popular that the Church in fact must adopt same in order to maintain its relevance and with-itness to the “wider culture”. Essentially it has been communicated, in word and deed in numerous public and other ways, that the teachings of the Church were useless, unhelpful, even destructive to the “spirit”. So now it is incredulous that the same wing of the Church (if it could be called that at all) now wishes to say, after all that has happened, been said and done, and being said and happening, that liturgy, prayers, doctrine, does matter, is important. Since the working assumption for decades has been that none of it matters, this group, instead of attacking, ought to abide by the “spirit” of charity and refrain from undermining what others wish to pray, because while for themselves it is meaningless and matters not while for others it is better to be respectful of the fact that for them it does mean, something.

By way of example, having lived through it, listening to the explanations and observing, when the change was made to communion in the hand, we listened to what our superiors told us to do, we accepted the change, and we did it, without complaint and certainly without attacking or undermining our superiors as being untruthful or many other things as we hear now, daily from “Catholic” (are they Christian?) writers and we did not foment others to be disrespectful or deter them from doing as instructed.

But in that case as well, if it does not matter to some, why should those same people feel intensely threatened such that they cannot help themselves from immediately and visibly and vocally going on the attack to disparage others who feel in their hearts and consciences that they must follow a different way. Isn’t that what being loyal to “the spirit” is all about.

If the goal of belief is to be, primarily, relevant in the times in which we are situated, to be effective in the world, then, reading the times we are presently in, all indications are that the faithful need the sacraments and the goodness of the Church more than ever before. It would be altogether too narrow a framework to believe that our only responsibilities to God and neighbor are in American politics. We of course need to be responsible about the times not only in America but in the wider world. Looking at it from this perspective, relative to many situations the human family finds itself in, America of course enjoys great riches, power, freedoms. The poorest of our country enjoy a higher standard of living relative to the poorest of many other countries and this is in no small part due to the teaching authority and concrete actions of the Church in America. How ought we bring our spiritual solidarity into play in the world as members of the Church in which all are our brothers and sisters without reference to geographic citizenship? It cannot be through continued teaching that liturgy and doctrine do not matter and are useless or pointless which in terms of their effects have led the faithful away from active participation in communal prayer and the sacraments. If we wish to further dissipate our energies, then more of the same seems the order of the day. If we recognize we are called to some greater participation in the light and dignity of God then our Catholic leaders, even despite vehement attack and criticism every step of the way, rightly point out the better way in courage, and continually and tirelessly, in a winsome way, attract those of us who may not have had the opportunity or encouragement previously to understand that we are not only in sum and substance, a vote, taxes, pocketbook, comment, purchased items, career success, results, tastes, media preferences, informed or not so informed opinions. Why this should be perceived as such a danger to some in positions of power and authority is an unfortunate and tiresome reality which we must face together in assenting to the path of goodness.

benedetta: Although I don’t always agree with Fr. Jim’s opinions, I don’t think he was hijacking the thread, but responding to other observations on the state of affairs in the Church vis-avis the appointment of bishops.

On the subject of the bishop as father of the diocese, I think that having a bishop stay in one diocese is a theological ideal, but ideals at times must give way to practicalities. Some of the greatest bishops have been men of a certain ambition, who thrived when moved from their small sees to larger ones. The Church understands this as part of human nature. Also, in the U.S., where administrative gifts dominate in the vocation of a bishop, it is unrealistic and perhaps dangerous to immediately appoint a bishop to a large and unwieldy see, without giving him a smaller one first as a training ground.

I’ll answer your question even though you have almost a perfect record in not answering mine.

Your comments here over several months indicate to me that you are yet another priest who went to seminary in good faith but have not yet realized that you were cheated by your “formation” . You seem not to have been awakened to the treasures of the faith, instead relying on liberal banalities. I have no problem with you disagreeing with Bp Serratelli’s article, but you are incapable of saying why. Instead, you trot out another of the tired liberal insults by accusing him of being little else than an ecclesiastical careerist.

BTW, Bp Bruskewicz of Lincoln would probably agree with Bp Serratelli’s comments on the sacred, and he has been quite content to stay in Nebraska. On the other hand, Cardinal Bernardin would probably be in your camp, and he was well known as the paradigm of a climbing, ecclesiastical careerist.

I don’t know whether Bps Hanus and Trautman have been brave, but a glance at the decreasing number of priests in their dioceses indicates that both have been pastoral failures as bishops.

It is stunning that you would say that someone who proposes Chartres Cathedral as an example of Church architecture is wrong.

Fr_Sotelo, I complete agree with you that there is a better and more instructive way to discuss the merits of lifetime appointments versus temporary ones in past periods and in these times and that it is a worthwhile discussion to have. But mischaracterizing a Bishop trying to actively guide his flock uncharitable or unhelpful things in the process of trying to have that discussion seems neither here nor there and seems only to serve the fixation with the same one note, which anti-Catholicism embraces with reckless abandon everywhere.

How can it possibly encourage unity or assist the need to recognize and perhaps assess, (for people with knowledge or experience with such things — rare indeed I would say would be the one qualified to make such judgments) with respect to practical and pastoral concerns and real needs in guiding immense numbers of people residing in an archdiocese to portray people thus. The reality is that the Bishops whom frjim4321 singles out for special praise are themselves not immune to the very tendency he condemns and the same pattern is at work and visible in other ways.

And it is no secret that the one note is to convince everyone that the Vox Clara 2010 Roman Missal is “bad” and that those who wish to pray it are “bad” and that everyone should not pray it and if they do they should smugly and with divided hearts not pray it, the same one note. Fr. Z has a blog. Many priests have blogs. Perhaps frjim4321’s blog will be “frjim4321 and why to despise the Vox Clara 2010 Roman Missal”. We could all visit there and comment on the judgments made, for a change of pace.

Of course in the instance where someone on a blog is content to launch a Molotov cocktail at people and run away is in fact hijacking. Passive aggressively, albeit, but still hijacking and people with good reason respond with facts, reason, discussion, questions. Interestingly, establishing all the more that it is a hijack, after frjim4321 lobs his inflammatory judgments and pronouncements he never returns for discussion but instead in militant and dictatorial manner responds to others’ legitimate and reasoned questions with, circular questions. It’s a pattern I’ve noticed. And it is consistent overall with the offer which we get with what the Holy Father calls the dictatorship of relativism. It is that we must be talked down to and ordered around and no matter how reasoned or well read or considerate or patient we are in listening to it we are not permitted a question or response. Fun!

And there are other internet names for that behavior. One can dress it up in clerical clothes, as informed opinion and all the rest but it plays out the exact same way every time. The other hilarious thing is he always re-posts to “correct” typos or insignificant detail, and this is to signal to us that he is honest, conscientious and, well, non-troll like and disguise the very rabid and bitter assumptions upon which all of his arguments are based. Sometimes people may say all sorts of things while picking lint off their sweaters but it really doesn’t meant they are altogether cleaner than everyone else or that their proposals are in fact superior to others.

1. He is a priest from Lincoln (= solid)
2. He has been 6 years in Wichita.
3. He has an STD (tesi on Catherine of Siena)
4. He worked for Cardinal Ratzinger for 8 years.
5. Coakley went to Okla City (perhaps of his contacts to Clear Creek).

If and when Jackels leaves, Wichita will get another good bishop. Bishop Maloney established a good foundation there.

Wrt bishop-elect Hartmayer, I happen to be in SGA visiting my folks, and went to Mass here in town. The priest is a Franciscan, and he announced the appointment with pleasure, said he knew Fr Hartmayer in Oklahoma and he is “just what this diocese needs”. Whatever that means.
I will say that the local Franciscans here are a bit eccentric and their taste in music is pretty bad (although that just may be a function of the available musicians – this is quite a small town – and the missalette which contains the usual rot, but they did sing some Bach!)
On the other hand there’s no question that they really believe. Homily today was on the Four Last Things, soft pedaled a bit but still that’s a tough topic to undertake at all. I noticed there is half an hour of confession before every Mass.
When I spoke to the priest afterwards, I remembered that the appointment had been discussed here but not what was said. So I congratulated Father on the appointment of a confrere, and said, “Father Z likes him.” Whoops. I thought his head was going to spin around. “Well, I guess everybody likes him,” I comforted.
Was that a venial sin? I honestly thought he had been mentioned favorably!
Anyhow, if an agitated OFM shows up, it’s all my fault.

benedetta,
Let us be fair.
Fr Jim doesn’t confine himself entirely to the Missal.
He dislikes the cappa magna too. :-D

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"Father John Zuhlsdorf is a crank"
"Father Zuhlsdorf drives me crazy"
"the hate-filled Father John Zuhlsford" [sic]
"Father John Zuhlsdorf, the right wing priest who has a penchant for referring to NCR as the 'fishwrap'"

Help the Sisters. They have a building project. Get great soap (gifts, etc.) while helping REAL nuns!

Food For Thought

“Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites. . . . Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.”

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